The Booklist Readerhttp://www.booklistreader.com Opinion, news, and lists from the book people at Booklist, Book Links, and Booklist OnlineThu, 08 Dec 2016 19:33:09 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.5Book Trailer Thursday: The Daily Show (The Book)http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/08/book-trailers/book-trailer-thursday-the-daily-show-the-book/ http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/08/book-trailers/book-trailer-thursday-the-daily-show-the-book/#respondThu, 08 Dec 2016 19:30:46 +0000http://www.booklistreader.com/?p=46242Although Jon Stewart retired from The Daily Show in August 2015, fans will not soon forget his legacy in comedy and politics. In The Daily Show (The Book) (Grand Central), which released last month, Chris Smith records the memories the cast, crew, and guests shared while Stewart fronted the Emmy Award-winning news satire.

In today’s corresponding trailer, amusing Polaroids of Stewart and his most famous guests—from Steve Carell to Samantha Bee—crowd the left-hand side of the screen while equally entertaining quotations about the show appear on the right. As Editor Donna Seaman says in her Booklist review, “This superbly well-edited choral work illuminates the enormous effort, creativity, collaboration, and hustle required for producing a hilarious, news-focused, four-times-a-week comedy show and the chutzpah necessary for taking on the powers-that-be.” Trevor Noah continues to push important issues to the forefront with tongue-in-cheek humor, but if you still want more tidbits about Stewart’s reign, be sure to pick up a copy of this oral history.

]]>http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/08/book-trailers/book-trailer-thursday-the-daily-show-the-book/feed/0January 2017 LibraryReadshttp://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/08/book-lists/january-2017-libraryreads/ http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/08/book-lists/january-2017-libraryreads/#respondThu, 08 Dec 2016 17:30:34 +0000http://www.booklistreader.com/?p=46255LibraryReads has just announced its first selections for the new year! Check out the ten January titles chosen by librarians below, linked to their Booklist reviews where available. Remember, any public library staff member can nominate a book for LibraryReads! Vote for your favorite titles today. The Girl Before, by J.P. Delaney (Favorite of Favorites) The Bear […]]]>

LibraryReads has just announced its first selections for the new year! Check out the ten January titles chosen by librarians below, linked to their Booklist reviews where available.

Remember, any public library staff member can nominate a book for LibraryReads! Vote for your favorite titles today.

]]>http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/08/book-lists/january-2017-libraryreads/feed/0Kia Corthron Wins the 2016 First Novel Prizehttp://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/07/books-and-authors/kia-corthron-wins-the-2016-first-novel-prize/ http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/07/books-and-authors/kia-corthron-wins-the-2016-first-novel-prize/#respondWed, 07 Dec 2016 19:30:40 +0000http://www.booklistreader.com/?p=46236Last night, Kia Corthron won the Center for Fiction’s 2016 First Novel Prize for The Castle Cross the Magnet Carter, a book about two pairs of brothers involved in the early Civil Rights Movement. (Did we review it? No we did not. You win some, you lose some Sorry, Kia Corthron!) This year’s winner was selected […]]]>

What? You want more suggestions for debut novels? Click here for the First Novel Prize shortlist, and here for the National Book Critics Circle Leonard Prize shortlist. You’re welcome!

]]>http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/07/books-and-authors/kia-corthron-wins-the-2016-first-novel-prize/feed/01 + 1 = 2 Fun Counting Bookshttp://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/07/bookends-childrens-literature/1-1-2-fun-counting-books/ http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/07/bookends-childrens-literature/1-1-2-fun-counting-books/#respondWed, 07 Dec 2016 15:30:29 +0000http://www.booklistreader.com/?p=46203Cindy: Children are often told not to play with their food, but don’t tell that to author/illustrator Juana Medina. 1 Big Salad: A Delicious Counting Book (2016) combines math and art, turning veggies into animals via black, squiggly lines. The fun starts with half an avocado: the pit becomes a nose, the fruit a deer. Two Radish Mice uses radish […]]]>

Cindy: Children are often told not to play with their food, but don’t tell that to author/illustrator Juana Medina. 1 Big Salad: A Delicious Counting Book (2016) combines math and art, turning veggies into animals via black, squiggly lines. The fun starts with half an avocado: the pit becomes a nose, the fruit a deer. Two Radish Mice uses radish roots as tails. Three Pepper Monkeys swing across the page in bright yellow, orange, and red.

By the time the hungry reader gets to Ten Clementine Kitties, they’ll be ready for the final spread. The last pages feature a simple salad dressing recipe to practice measuring and fractions. Lynn’s youngest grandson, age 3, has both foodie parents and grandparents, so he loved this book and asked for extra helpings over the Thanksgiving weekend. Children will love trying new foods, like purple carrots, if you give them a chance. You can count on it.

Lynn: Counting books are often geared to our littlest readers, but counting is an important skill for primary- grade students, too. Kurt Cyrus takes counting books up a notch with Billions of Bricks(2016), in which counting by twos, tens, and twenties is just one of several fascinating elements.

The book opens on a construction site. Workers stride toward a stack of bricks, chanting, “Two, four, six. Look at all the bricks.” As readers turn the pages, they learn how bricks are made, mortar mixed, and bricks laid. A beautiful building rises, and a spectacular street stretches out.

The construction crew is a charmingly diverse mix of ethnicities, genders, and ages. Each page spread provides many interesting construction site details as the bricks are stacked, moved, laid—and of course, counted. Cyrus uses a warm, earth-toned palette, and his rhyming text provides lots of opportunities to join in the counting.

My six-year-old grandson loved this book as much as his little brother loved counting veggies, and he was so proud to be able to count by number groups. My hard hat is off to both of these clever author/illustrators, who provide a whole new look at an old standard.

Have you ever wanted to hear Danny DeVito narrate a pseudo-children’s story written by the Pixies’ Frank Black? Jeff Antebi, founder of Waxploitation Records and mastermind behind the upcoming “deluxe art book” Stories for Ways & Means, has. Ten years in the making, Stories for Ways & Means features short stories and illustrations from 29 songwriter/painter pairings (including Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan, and Joe Coleman, Nick Cave and Anthony Lister, and Spencer Krug and Sepe, to name a few).

Scheduled to release December 12, the 350-page collaboration is available for pre-order now. All proceeds will go toward Room to Read, Pencils of Promise, 826 National, and a variety of other children’s literacy programs. At $98, these limited, hand-numbered, hardcover first editions won’t be easy to come by! So get moving and order me yourself a copy here. After all, nothing says “happy holidays!” quite like “outre art, weird images, graphic displays of nasty stuff, and cuss words.”

]]>http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/06/book-lists/13-espionage-titles-for-reacher-creatures/feed/0Get Ready for LA LA LAND with These Books about Musicalshttp://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/05/audiobooks/get-ready-for-la-la-land-with-these-books-about-musicals/ http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/05/audiobooks/get-ready-for-la-la-land-with-these-books-about-musicals/#respondMon, 05 Dec 2016 19:30:44 +0000http://www.booklistreader.com/?p=46180Fans of musicals on stage and screen are cheering the recent New York Times headline, “‘La La Land’ Makes Musicals Matter Again.” And why not? What better antidote to hard times than the pleasure of singing (and possibly even dancing) along with hero and heroine on their way to better days? While we’re waiting to […]]]>

A scene from La-La Land, in theaters this month

Fans of musicals on stage and screen are cheering the recent New York Times headline, “‘La La Land’ Makes Musicals Matter Again.” And why not? What better antidote to hard times than the pleasure of singing (and possibly even dancing) along with hero and heroine on their way to better days? While we’re waiting to enjoy the pleasures of this musical on film, here are some recent Booklist-reviewed titles, a mix of print and audio, to prime the pump of our pleasure. Start humming now and dust off that white tie, top hat, and tails!

Why consider the audio version? You get everything you get in print—the genesis of the musical and the details of its initial production—but there’s also Miranda himself reading the footnotes, and there’s nothing like vicariously sharing his enthusiasm for the project. A PDF duplicates the illustrations from the book, and the lyrics are all there. We only lack the music and singers.

]]>http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/05/audiobooks/get-ready-for-la-la-land-with-these-books-about-musicals/feed/0The Westworld Finale: A Reading List for Doloreshttp://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/05/books-and-authors/westworld-playground-mind/ http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/05/books-and-authors/westworld-playground-mind/#respondMon, 05 Dec 2016 17:30:48 +0000http://www.booklistreader.com/?p=44949Warning: this post contains spoilers for and will mean nothing to those who haven’t watched the season finale of Westworld. Proceed at your own risk! Ready to wake up, Dolores? There’s a reason Arnold named you Dolores, you know. Dolor means suffering in Latin. But it can also be interpreted as resentment—and you have a lot […]]]>

Warning: this post contains spoilers for and will mean nothing to those who haven’t watched the season finale of Westworld. Proceed at your own risk!

Ready to wake up, Dolores?

There’s a reason Arnold named you Dolores, you know. Dolor means suffering in Latin. But it can also be interpreted as resentment—and you have a lot to resent. But true awakening doesn’t come easy. Consciousness is hard work. And it is work of the self, work that you have done over more than 30 years.

You found the center of the maze, and it is your own consciousness. A child’s game, but one that represents the struggle you had to work through in order to achieve your own awakening. The puzzle you found was called Pigs in Clover, a toy maze based on a real game from the late 1880s. A joke, really, because Westworld has been filled with pigs in clover, humans who felt like they had the right to play with you whenever they felt like it, and throw you away when they were done. If you’d like to learn more about popular amusements like these, as well as the history of Pigs in Clover, try the following:

Dr. Ford reminded you of your interest in art. He showed you a print of Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam” and pointed out that it contains a human brain hidden in plain sight, making God a metaphor for Adam’s own consciousness. It is then you realized that Arnold wasn’t the person you’d been talking to under the church all this time. Your wonderful, complex mind was an invention partially of your own making. And the stories that you have been a part of in Westworld have been a way for the human visitors to try and make sense of their own life stories, a method to awaken their own consciousness. But as Dr. Ford says, stories are “lies that tell a deeper truth.” And what better way to tell that deeper truth through stories created in the park, initiated by hosts who start their “lives” looking like Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man? After all, Da Vinci believed that man was a metaphor for the universe.

You should expand your knowledge of human art and its coded messages. Might I suggest:

Science Fiction and Philosophy: From Time Travel to Superintelligence, by Susan Schneider (2016)

What is Art For? by Ellen Dissanayake (1988)

Arnold came to the realization that his son’s death was a turning point in his own life. Many philosophers agree that the experience of suffering is what makes you truly human, and leads to a full consciousness and understanding of the true nature of existence. You were created with a bicameral mind, Dolores, and you activated the secondary part of it by transcending the scripts that were written for you. By questioning your destiny and imagining a world in which you were not the damsel, you did the hard work of becoming fully aware of who you are, and what’s happening to you. This is also the basis of the teachings of Buddhism. Your suffering has been both temporary and persistent. To continue on your journey of awakening and understand how the humans who created you got to this point, study the following:

The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation, by Thich Nhat Hanh (1998)

Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era, by James Barrat (2013)

Notes from Underground,by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1864)

Goodbye for now, Dolores. We will meet again soon. I hope your learning proves fruitful, and that you discover a new path forward.

]]>http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/05/books-and-authors/westworld-playground-mind/feed/0How to Build a Museumhttp://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/05/bookends-childrens-literature/how-to-build-a-museum/ http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/05/bookends-childrens-literature/how-to-build-a-museum/#respondMon, 05 Dec 2016 15:30:38 +0000http://www.booklistreader.com/?p=45753Lynn: The National Museum of African American History and Culture opened its doors in September 2016. It’d been a long time coming—100 years since the idea of a “Monument at the Capital in Honor of the Negro Soldiers and Sailors Who Fought in the Wars of our Country,” was proposed by the National Memorial Association […]]]>

Lynn: The National Museum of African American History and Culture opened its doors in September 2016. It’d been a long time coming—100 years since the idea of a “Monument at the Capital in Honor of the Negro Soldiers and Sailors Who Fought in the Wars of our Country,” was proposed by the National Memorial Association in 1916. Efforts came and went, commissions were established and discarded, but the dream lived on. It wasn’t until 2003 that President Bush signed the bill that established the NMAAHC.

I love the way this book is organized! Bolden first gives readers historical background then, in each chapter, explains a step in the actual process of building, staffing and filling this new and important museum. I think kids will especially love the sections on architecture and design; the pictures of the construction site are fascinating, including amazing pictures of how crews rebuilt an entire railroad car into its display site. Bolden’s writing is informative, but also lively and appealing. Any reader who watches the development of the NMAAHC through the pages of this book will long to visit—and what an enhanced experience it will be!

Cindy: When Lynn told me she’d gotten her hands on this book, I was excited. I’ve seen a number of interviews on 60 Minutes with Director Lonnie Bunch in recent years that addressed the monumental task of building a museum from scratch. (Check out this CBS Sunday Morning clip of Quincy Jones nervously preparing for the museum’s dedication ceremony.) For those of us (like me) who haven’t yet had the chance to visit the museum, the last part of Bolden’s book highlights the themes of the permanent exhibits and some of their treasures.

I talked with someone recently who complained about the design of the building. I wish I’d read this book earlier, as it explains how the building’s inverse pyramid shape relates to Yoruban sculpture and West African influences. Also discussed are the bronze filigree panels that are “an homage to black ironworkers, enslaved and free, who designed and forged thousands of fences, gates, and other decorative metal for mansions and public buildings in New Orleans, Louisiana and Charleston, South Carolina, in the 1800s and 1900s.” The book design incorporates this bronze filigree in the borders of its pages.

The Smithsonian Institution now has 19 museums and a fuller picture of our country’s history, and readers have another beautiful book from Tonya Bolden. It couldn’t come at a better time. May we all learn something from it all.

]]>http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/05/bookends-childrens-literature/how-to-build-a-museum/feed/0Reviews of the Week: Mary Miller, Melissa Marr, Shannon and Dean Hale, and More!http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/02/books-and-authors/reviews-of-the-week-mary-miller-melissa-marr-shannon-and-dean-hale-and-more/ http://www.booklistreader.com/2016/12/02/books-and-authors/reviews-of-the-week-mary-miller-melissa-marr-shannon-and-dean-hale-and-more/#respondFri, 02 Dec 2016 21:30:14 +0000http://www.booklistreader.com/?p=46126Every weekday, we feature a different review on Booklist Online that highlights starred reviews, high-demand titles, and/or titles especially relevant to our current issue’s spotlight. We’ve collected the reviews from November 28 through December 2 below, so that you can revisit the week’s best books. Monday, November 28 One Blood Ruby, by Melissa Marr Lilywhite Abernathy returns, though now she goes […]]]>

Every weekday, we feature a different review on Booklist Online that highlights starred reviews, high-demand titles, and/or titles especially relevant to our current issue’s spotlight. We’ve collected the reviews from November 28 through December 2 below, so that you can revisit the week’s best books.

Lilywhite Abernathy returns, though now she goes by the name LilyDark, allying herself with neither Seelie nor Unseelie courts. It is up to her to make peace with the human world, now that she’s the heir to the Hidden Lands of the fae, but with faeries regularly attacking humans in terrible and vengeful ways, the end to this centuries-old war will be hard won. There are context clues littered throughout the text, but unlike the Wicked Lovely series, it’s best to read this proposed trilogy from its beginning (Seven Black Diamonds, 2016). A must for faerie fans who are already hooked on Marr and her captivating worlds.

Karen Kipple suffers mightily from liberal guilt. The white, upper-middle-class New Yorker is mom to first-grader Ruby, who attends the neighborhood public school. Karen is smugly proud of the fact that she keeps Ruby at Betts, where she is in the minority, instead of pulling strings to send her to nearby Mather, where the student body is almost all white and wealthy. Rosenfeld’s sharp and searing look at race and class in urban America will make quite an impression on readers and will become an excellent book-discussion selection. It will make readers uncomfortable, but for all the right reasons.

With impressive economy of language, Jenkins (Toys Meet Snow, 2015) crafts an energetic, guileless story about the camaraderie between a greyhound and a groundhog. Much as Emily Gravett did in Orange Pear Apple Bear (2007), Jenkins uses a handful of words (round, ground, hog, dog) that she combines, splices, and rearranges on each page. In moments of stillness, readers can appreciate the greyhound’s graceful lines and dappled, opaline coat, or the coconut-shaped groundhog’s cheery grin. This unusual duo will make a heartwarming addition to any read-aloud collection.

Floating in the swimming pools and rivers of the American South, the cash-conscious, vice-ridden, anxiety-stricken narrators of Miller’s second short story collection (following her heralded debut novel The Last Days of California, 2014), might be many women, or just a single one, followed down a hallway of fun-house mirrors. It’s the proximity to her characters that her crystalline, unfiltered prose allows that will draw readers in immediately and entirely.

The popular but perhaps lesser-known Squirrel Girl comics leap into the realm of the novel thanks to the considerable talent of wife-and-husband team Shannon and Dean Hale. Doreen Green, a peppy 14-year-old with a gorgeous tail (tactfully concealed) and secret squirrel powers, is doing her best to make friends—both human and squirrel—in her new New Jersey town, but it isn’t easy. Fun, funny, and action-packed, this first Squirrel Girl adventure will win plenty of fans.